Ryan Reynolds starred in 2020's Free Guy as a Non-Playable Character who joins the gaming world in order to find the love of his life by becoming a hero in the game "Free City." The movie celebrates its game-world setting by rewarding eagle-eyed viewers with a number of amazing Easter Eggs from both video games and movies of all kinds.
While Free Guy includes quite a few nods to Disney-owned properties like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, there are quite a few more subtle Easter Eggs layered throughout the movie that can be easily missed. These are just a few of the movie's funniest nods to video games and movies as well as a few surprising actor cameos.
10 Hugh Jackman Is The Masked Player Who Helps Molotov Girl
As is often the case with blockbuster movies that feature anonymous masked characters, Free Guy features a few superstar cameos that might have some fans wondering about the familiar voice behind the mask.
When Jodie Comer's Millie/Molotov Girl first appears, she is meeting with a masked player who she contracted to find information about her missing evidence. The masked player's voice actually belongs to Hugh Jackman, who has a hilarious off-screen friendship with Reynolds that began when the two starred in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
9 Halo's Scorpion Tank Can Be Seen Crushing Cars In The Background
Free Guy features quite a few nods to other game properties, which make sense as the movie itself takes a lot of inspiration from open-world games like Grand Theft Auto and Fortnite. One of the earliest Easter Eggs is briefly seen in "Free City" as Guy and his security guard friend, Buddy, are walking to work on their usual commute.
The M808B Main Battle Tank/Scorpion Tank from the Halo franchise is seen casually rolling over cars in the background, giving fans of the series a fun nod while also showcasing the random chaos and destruction that goes on every day in the game world.
8 Guy Gets His First Pair Of Glasses From Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
The character of Guy is introduced as an NPC who works at the bank and deals with daily robberies while living in ignorant bliss, though everything changes when he meets Molotov Girl for the first time. Something awakens inside him, and he decides he needs his own pair of sunglasses that serve as the human players' HUD and controls.
He steals his pair of glasses from a masked bank robber with another familiar voice, which actually belongs to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Reynolds and Johnson teamed up for Netflix's recently released Red Notice after also appearing together in2019's Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbes & Shaw.
7 Portal's Iconic Warping Portal Gun Makes A Couple Of Appearances
PC gamers may have recognized the use of the Portal Gun from Valve's Portal franchise, which is first seen when Molotov Girl creates a quick getaway for her and Guy when they were outnumbered during her search for the evidence that proved her game code was stolen to create "Free City."
The warping Portal Gun (Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device) also appears in the climactic final battle between Guy and the upgraded but unfinished version of his character known as Dude. Portal was a huge hit when it was released, but non-PC players might have missed the inclusion of the powerful weapon.
6 The Memorable Score From Pixar's Paperman Short Is Used Frequently
Free Guy may be an action-filled video game movie, but at its heart, there is a tale of romance that drives the main characters like Guy, Molotov, and one of the game's creators, Joe Keery's Keys. The score used during these romantic moments may be familiar to some fans of Disney and Pixar shorts.
The music first appeared in the Paperman short that told the story of a chance meeting that led to love at first sight, with a little nudge from a ton of paper airplanes. The score was composed by Christophe Beck, who also provided music for Free Guy.
5 Keys' Apartment Contains A Few Nods To The Classic Pac-Man Game
Free Guy takes place in two different worlds; Guy discovers the truth about himself in the game world while Mille/Molotov Girl and her former partner Keys attempt to find the evidence to prove that their game which features enhanced AI was stolen by the developer of "Free City."
When Millie first tries to enlist Keys to help her, she breaks into his apartment which includes a few small nods to classic games like Pac-Man. The most obvious is a table lamp in the shape of one of the ghosts that try to hunt down Pac-Man in the arcade game.
4 Guy Uses Mega-Man's Mega-Buster When He Helps Molotov Girl
Another classic game that is referenced in Free Guy is Capcom's Mega-Man, though it's a very quick Easter Egg that some fans might have missed. Molotov Girl is attempting to raid the hideout of player Revenjamin Buttons (played by Channing Tatum) in order to locate the video file evidence, though she is quickly outnumbered by armed NPCs.
Guy arrives to save the day, and during the battle, he quickly accesses Mega-Man's Mega-Buster which forms around his hand before disappearing after taking out an NPC. The Mega-Buster is Mega-Man's main weapon and is also known as the Arm Cannon or the Rock Buster in the original Japanese versions of the games.
3 Keith's Room Has Movie Posters Including One Of Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool
Matty Cardarople's Keith is the real-world gamer behind Revenjamin Buttons and is seen in a few different scenes that showcase his pop culture-infused bedroom where he plays "Free City." While his desk is filled with figures like Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas and Toad from the Mario franchise, it's the posters on his wall that contain a fun Easter Egg.
Covering other posters for The X-Files, Rick and Morty, and Avengers: Infinity War is a small Deadpool movie poster, which is a subtle nod to one of Ryan Reynolds's most recognized roles. Reynolds first played the Merc-With-A-Mouth in X-Men: Origins Wolverine before he was able to properly return to the character for the 2016 movie and the 2018 sequel Deadpool 2.
2 Half-Life's Gravity Gun Is Used In Guy's Final Battle Against Dude
Valve's Half-Life franchise is a fan-favorite first-person shooter that featured a number of memorable weapons used by the protagonist, Gordon Freeman, as he attempted to fight off an invasion from another dimension.
The Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator is also known as the Gravity Gun, and it is one of Half-Life's main weapons that is used in battle and to solve puzzles. Guy uses the Gravity Gun during his final battle against the physically intimidating Dude, which was undoubtedly noticed by Half-Life fans.
1 Fortnite's Rainbow Smash Pickaxe Was Used When Dude Took On Guy
The game world of "Free City" featured quite a few nods to the popular Fortnite battle royale game, which Free Guy used as inspiration alongside games like Grand Theft Auto. There are quite a few players who are seen doing the popular "flossing" dance from Fortnite, though that isn't the only nod to the game.
Molotov Girl and Guy escape Revenjamin Buttons' hideout using a rocket-powered hang-glider, while Guy uses the powerful Rainbow Smash Pickaxe in his final battle against Dude after pulling out the iconic lightsaber from Star Wars.